Consequences of Nightmares
by foreverforgetful
Summary: Holly is haunted by a recurring nightmare about Root's death. What will finally make them stop? HollyRoot
1. Betrayal

**Hello all! Thanks for deciding to read my story! Please review and tell me what you think of it. :D**

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The bag was removed from her head and she took the opportunity to look around. She had been brought to a chute and was tied to a chair that was seated close to the opening into the center of the earth. She looked for the people that had brought her there. One person was standing with his back to her. 

"What do you want?" Holly asked

The lone figure turned around and looked at her, staying silent.

Holly searched the brown eyes staring back at her through a mask. Something about those eyes were strangely familiar to her. There was contempt in those eyes, and something else... betrayal she realized with a start.

"What did I do?" Holly asked the masked figure quietly

"What did you do? What did you do? You know what you did!" the voice belonging to the eyes roared at her. "You have the nerve to ask!" The voice also struck a familiar chord. But that voice and those eyes had never looked at her with such hatred before. She gasped as she finally made the connection.

"Julius?" she whispered in disbelief. The figure ripped the mask off and Holly found herself looking at her red-faced commander. She felt her eyes fill with tears as she saw the familiar face contorted with rage that was directed at her.

"But, the explosion..."

"You left me for dead! I was counting on you to figure out that I was alive, but you gave up on me!" Root hissed, "So now, you get to see what I went through!"

Tears began to slowly track down Holly's face.

Suddenly, the alarms from the blast doors began to sound, signaling that a flare was coming. He grinned triumphantly

"Goodbye Holly, have fun in the flare" he gave her an evil glare and turned.

"Commander! Please! Don't leave me here!" Holly sobbed

He didn't look back as he walked briskly to the safe side of the closing blast doors. "No! Wait!" Holly called to her old commander "Help me please! Don't leave me!" He had reached the other side of the doors "JULIUS! NO!" He stopped. "Please Julius" Holly begged tearfully.

"Don't call me Julius, betrayer" Root roared and he walked off.

"Wait, help me!" Holly cried as the sliding doors closed with an ominous bang. "No!" she burst into tears and hit her office floor with a thump.

* * *

Holly looked around at the familiar surroundings. She had been reviewing a case when she had fallen asleep. Mulch ran into the room. 

"Holly! What's happening?" He gasped breathlessly

"Nothing. Nothing" Holly replied, covering her tear-stained face with her hands before Mulch could see. Too late.

"Holly, you don't shout and cry for no reason." Mulch replied. Holly fought to keep from sobbing out loud.

"I-I fell asleep, i-it was just a n-nightmare" Her voice broke and she began shaking. Mulch patted her on her back comfortingly.

"Do you want to tell me about it?" He asked

"No, just leave me alone"

"Holly,"

"Just leave me alone!" Holly shouted and threw him out of the room, slamming the door. She locked the door and returned to her desk sobbing quietly. She let herself cry her frustration out so that she might have a chance to continue working on the case. The nightmare had haunted her sleep almost every night since the Root's death in E37. "aaaaaaag" she muttered and got herself under control again. She usually didn't allow herself to break down like that, but every night that the nightmare came, she would wake herself with her own screams, sometimes after she had fallen off the bed and onto the floor. Three times, a security officer that a neighbor had called when hearing her screaming had shaken her awake. Just yesterday the head of the security team of her apartment building had recommended placing a guard outside to watch her windows and outside her door. They thought that someone was stalking her. She had had to explain that she was being stalked by a nightmare and not by an actual person. But this morning, when she left her apartment, she saw a security guard standing across the way reading a newspaper look up at her before he walked away. She was going to have a talk with any other guards she caught spying on her place.

* * *

Mulch sighed as Holly slammed the door to her office, and got up off the floor where he had landed when he had been thrown out. If Holly wasn't going to talk to him, he should find another one of her friends to help her. She had been coming into the office looking tired and depressed every morning, and now he thought he knew why. Julius's death was haunting her. Mulch was certain of it. 

Walking to his office, he shut the door and locked it, just in case Holly decided to come in. She would be furious if she found out that he was going to tell Foaly about what was going on. Not that she wouldn't find out eventually, he just wanted to delay facing her. Having Holly angry with you was not a fun experience. Mulch picked up the communicator and dialed.

"Foaly here" Foaly answered

"Hey Foaly, it's Mulch,"

"What can the technical genus of the LEP do for you today?"

"I'm worried about Holly" Mulch began, and proceeded to describe hearing Holly's screams "It seems like she's taking Julius's death really hard"

"I'll try to talk to her, but I doubt that she'll admit it." Foaly terminated the link.

Mulch leaned back in his chair and wondered if there was a way to escape Holly's wrath.

"MULCH! YOU STUPID CONVICT!" erupted from Holly's office not ten minutes later.

"Sheesh Foaly, just confront her immediately. You could have at least waited until I left the office!" the dwarf in question muttered under his breath, grabbed his keys, the half empty can of cashews on his desk, and fled the office before Holly could kill him.


	2. Confrontation

**Yay! Second chapter! Don't forget to review, even if you hated it.**

**I forgot a disclaimer last time so...**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing, actually, I don't even own nothing; does the security guard count? No? oh well...**

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Holly had just returned to her case file when her computer announced that she had received an e-mail. 

"New mail from Foaly" the computer chirped. Holly opened the e-mail, hoping that Foaly hadn't heard about her breakdown already.

Holly,

Hey! The entire force misses you, come by and visit. I wanted to talk to you about an incident that Mulch described, come by the Ops. Booth as soon as possible.

The technical genius, Foaly

P.S. I know you're at your office right now, so don't think you can get away with ignoring this.

Holly slammed her fist on the desk. "MULCH! YOU STUPID CONVICT!" she roared, then froze as she realized what she had just said. She put her head in her hands. Everything seemed to be reminding her of Root recently. Her head jerked back up as she heard the door to the office shut and the lock turn. Typical. Mulch didn't want to face her when she was angry. Nobody did. Holly took a deep breath, and headed out to go see Foaly. She might as well get it out of the way.

* * *

Foaly was waiting outside the LEP building for her when she got there.

"Hey Holly! I've missed seeing you everyday, how are you doing?" Foaly greeted her

"Shouldn't you be working Foaly? You wouldn't want to get on... Sool's bad side." Holly replied, avoiding saying 'commander'

"You know me, commanders can't stand me anyway. Besides, Sool sent orders that you weren't to be let into the building unless escorted"

"If you can call someone as incompetent as Sool 'commander'" Holly muttered under her breath "What does he think I'm going to do? Attack him or something because I can't work here anymore?"

"The attacking part doesn't sound that bad" Foaly chuckled "seeing Sool beaten by a girl would make my day"

"Keep on wishing Foaly" The receptionist gave Holly a nervous look as they passed, but Holly ignored him.

"Speaking of Sool, you know what he did now?" Foaly asked with a look on his face that suggested that he wouldn't mind being the one to beat the pitiful excuse of a commander himself,

"Did he get the entire LEP to quit?"

"Worse" Holly gulped at this answer "He felt that he wasn't earning enough money, so he confiscated all of Julius's old possessions, and sold them"

Holly looked enraged

"He what?" She burst out "Who does he think he is? That stuff should have gone to the Commander's family!"

"It wasn't just the stuff that was left at the office, he also took everything from Julius's home, and sold that too"

"He's going to get sued over this" Holly hissed

"Seems like you're a little more worked up than normal, Holly" Foaly commented looking concerned as they entered the Ops. Booth

"That's...well... Sool's an idiot" Holly finally stuttered, her cheeks reddening,

"Mulch and I are worried about you," Foaly began. Holly took a breath to argue, but Foaly held up a hand, "He says that you've been coming into work in a bad mood, and you don't seem to be sleeping much. He also said that you were yelling for Julius while having a nightmare. Please, Holly, what was the nightmare about?"

"It's just a nightmare," Holly muttered half-heartedly

"but 'just' that nightmare sent you to tears"

"Foaly..."

"Holly, I talked with the head of the security of your apartment building" Holly's mouth fell open with a look of betrayal "He says that there were three incidents where they had reports of loud screams coming from your apartment, and they say you claimed it 'was only a stupid nightmare'"

"You nosy little...!" Holly began angrily

"If you don't want to talk to me, you should really consider seeing a counselor. You need to talk to someone about this, it seems to be really bothering you."

"I... you…IT'S MY BUSINESS! STAY OUT OF IT!" Holly shouted and turned to leave. The door wouldn't open. Holly whirled around and glared daggers at Foaly, "If you don't mind, I'd like to get back home so I can get some work done and go to sleep," Holly hissed. Foaly seemed to catch the hint that he shouldn't press his luck and buzzed the door open.

An urgent beeping began to issue from Foaly's computer as Holly stormed out.

* * *

As Holly was unlocking the door to her apartment, she felt eyes on her. She looked up and saw a security officer watching her. He smiled nervously, and Holly gave him an evil smile that sent shudders down his back. Holly watched as the now jumpy guard walked around the corner. "Stupid guards can't mind their own business" Holly muttered angrily as she entered her apartment and got into bed.

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**Don't forget to review looks with big sad pleading eyes at readers please?**  



	3. Summons from the Commander

"You should know that when you betray someone, they're going to seek revenge." A masked elf said angrily

"Julius?" she whispered. The figure ripped the mask off and Holly found herself looking at her commander. She felt her eyes fill with tears as she saw the familiar face contorted with rage.

"The explosion..."

"You left me for dead! I was counting on you, but you gave up on me!" Root hissed, "So now, you get to see what I went through!" he gave her a smugly sinister look, "But you aren't going to get lucky like I did."

Tears began to slowly track down Holly's face.

Suddenly, the alarms from the blast doors began to sound, signaling that a flare was coming. "Goodbye Holly, have fun in the flare" he grinned evilly and turned.

"Commander! Please! Don't leave me here!" Holly sobbed

He didn't look back as he walked briskly to the safe side of the closing blast doors. "No! Wait!" Holly called to her old commander "Help me please! Don't leave me!" He had reached the other side of the doors "JULIUS! NO!" He didn't look back. "Please Julius" Holly begged tearfully. He walked away chuckling to himself.

"NO!" Holly cried as the sliding doors closed, and odd ringing sound issued from them...

* * *

Holly bolted into a sitting position as the communicator next to her bed let off another ring. The caller ID said 'Foaly URGENT'. Holly scrubbed at the tears on her face as she answered. 

"Foaly, why are you calling me in the middle of the night! You were the one who was just saying that you were worried because it seemed like I wasn't getting enough..."

"Sorry, it's really important," Foaly cut her off "the Commander needs to see you immediately in the Ops. Booth" Foaly was breathless and sounded excited

"Foaly, what..?"

"Just come right now!" Foaly said and terminated the link

"What under the Earth?" Holly muttered, jumping up and pulling her clothes on as a knock sounded on the door. She grabbed her keys and opened the door. It was the security guard that she had scared off earlier.

"Miss..." he started

"I'm fine, I don't have any time, so get out of my way" Holly stepped outside and locked the door, cursing hypocritical donkeys, idiot commanders, and over protective security teams under her breath. She turned and rushed in the direction of Police Plaza without looking at the guard again. She hoped he had enough sense not to be there when she came back.

Holly stopped in her tracks as what she had called Foaly came back to her mind. She sighed. Maybe she was thinking too much about him. About Root. She was even starting to act like him. Holly chuckled, at least she wasn't turning purple all the time.

* * *

Holly was still lost in her thoughts when she entered Police Plaza. The receptionist didn't try to stop Holly as she hurried past; obviously, he had seen her bad mood earlier and didn't want to risk being in the path of her wrath. 

Holly walked up to the door to the Ops. Booth, but the door opened before she got a chance to pound on it.

"FOALY! WHAT IS YOUR PROBLEM? CALLING ME IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT!" Holly shouted as the door shut behind her. She heard a gasp but ignored the second person in the room as she walked past him, intent on letting her frustration out on Foaly, "AFTER THAT 'WE'RE WORRIED ABOUT YOU' SPEECH AND EVERYTHING!"

"Holly, you won't mind after I tell you..." Foaly began, gesturing to something behind her

"You said that Sool wanted to see me; tell him that if he wants to see someone, he shouldn't send for them at such a late hour at night, or early hour in the morning!" she looked at her watch, indeed, it was just past midnight.

Foaly smiled happily

"I said that the _Commander_ would want to see you, not _Sool_." Foaly said quickly, still trying to get her to turn around

Holly took a breath to continue her shouting, but stopped as Foaly's words sunk in, "You mean Sool's been replaced!" She laughed and punched the air in triumph, "Finally! By who?"

"He'll be replaced soon enough"

"You're confusing me. Then what are you talking about?"

Foaly just smiled and pointed in the direction that Holly had heard the gasp when she had entered the room. The other person seemed to get over his startlement and cleared his throat

"me, of course"

Holly whirled around at the familiar voice, her mouth open in astonishment. The figure stepped out of the corner of the room.

Holly fought to keep herself under control.

"you... how…?" Blackness was creeping in at the edges of her vision, and she felt her face grow hot. She knew that if she managed to keep herself from fainting, she would begin to cry. She could only fight off one at a time. She swayed slightly. The elf reached out to steady her, looking worried.

"Are you all right?"

Holly decided that she'd done enough crying lately and gave in to the darkness.

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**Bwahahahaha... cliffhanger!** **Sorry, couldn't help myself... So! Now you can go to that little button labeled 'review' that's calling your name. Please? -gets on knees and clasps hands, begging- with sugar on top? It would make my day/night. Oh! and thanks so much to my first reviewers:D **  



	4. Genius's Mistake

**Yay! I finally finished the fourth chapter, after spending a week without a computer, and not having enough time for another week... Anyways, here it is!**

** Disclaimer: I own nothing, it all owns me, or the empty space where my mind should be. Or maybe both...

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The elf lying on the ground in E37 regained consciousness, and immediately wished he hadn't. Pain was shooting up and down his body. The tiny movements of drawing in breath were agony. He could tell he had several broken ribs; in fact, he wouldn't be surprised if all of them were snapped in half. It felt as if someone had poured a scalding hot cup of coffee all over him. Everywhere that skin touched the ground or the remains of the suit felt like newly forged knives that had just been taken out of the furnace were stabbing it.

As the pain stopped consuming his complete attention, he became aware of a noise. No, wait… it was a voice, an extremely annoying voice belonging to an extremely happy pixie.

"Hello Commander, how are you feeling?" the voice was filled with mock concern, "don't answer, I already know. You should be in complete agony right about now. I made sure that you couldn't die immediately and painlessly after the explosion." The pixie laughed

Everything that had happened came rushing back to the elf. E37. Scalene. The octobonds. Koboi. Holly, so sure she could save him. The explosion. It had been a trap.

"You see, Julius, I designed a fire shield with just enough strength to make sure you survived the explosion, but I designed it to have enough flaws that you will suffer from extremely severe burns all over your body. The perfect revenge! Commander Julius Root dies a slow death, and Captain Holly Short is now to blame, and no longer among the living to clear her name. It's too bad that she was unable to outrun my bomb and live to see all of her friends dead or die a horrible death herself. Oh well, her name is still the dirt on the LEP's boot."

Root felt the breath leave his body. Holly was dead. No, she couldn't be; not after all that she had survived. She was going to be the first female Major in Recon history. And now she was dead because of him.

Koboi chuckled merrily, "You know, Commander, I don't even know if you can hear my message. I'm recording it so that it will play over and over to be sure that if you become conscious, my lovely voice will be the last thing you will ever hear. Goodbye Julius, I hope you have a terrible death!"

There were a few moments of silence before the recording started up again. Root groaned and covered his face with his hands. Holly had been the reason he got up in the morning: to see her, or maybe talk to her. He found himself calling her into his office with, sometimes, pitiful excuses just to see her beautiful face light up with a fierce determination to prove herself. He always tried to be kind to her, but he always got nervous and agitated and ended up yelling at her for some stupid thing or other. She must have hated him for it. He'd always be in a bad mood for the rest of the day and would vow that he'd try harder the next morning. Very slowly, he got better, but not by much. And now by not listening to her warnings, she had been killed.

He took a shuddering breath and winced. No matter what state he was emotionally, his body needed immediate attention if he wanted to live to prove that Holly hadn't murdered him or even tried to. He found that he could move without too much difficulty. But Koboi wouldn't intentionally leave him the chance to heal enough to get out of there. That was when he remembered Foaly's fire resistant suit; the combination of the suit and shield had given him the chance to live. The pony's invention had actually been worth something. But not enough to save Holly, he thought.

He pushed away all thoughts of her and fumbled at his neck for the chain that held his copy of the Book, and another of Foaly's inventions that had proved before to be useful: the acorn preserved in the capsule. He yanked it off the chain and smashed it against the ground. He gingerly sat up and gasped in pain from the change in position. With shaky hands, he dug a hole and planted the acorn. He lost consciousness as the magic flowed into him and began the healing.

* * *

Root sat waiting impatiently, turning redder and redder, doing his best not to think about Holly. He had spent some time unconscious after the healing, and then flew up to the surface to complete the Ritual; he had used all of his magic in the healing. When he got to an abandoned shuttle terminal, he checked the monitors to the surface and discovered that it was daylight outside, morning. He had slept and waited until it became dark enough for him to venture out, and then realized that he had absolutely no idea where he was… He would be even more lost looking for a hotspot. He silently cursed himself for his stupidity, wishing that he had just stayed in E37. He ended up leaving the terminal and stopping a car that was driving by. He got the Mud Man to use his cell phone, and Root called Fowl Manor, saying all the key words that should trigger the alarm on the phone tap.

Root hoped that Koboi had been lying about what had happened to Holly, but he couldn't be sure. He looked up as he heard a gasp from somewhere in the clearing. Finally, the pony had sent someone to investigate. Root cleared his throat and stood up.

An LEP officer unshielded, it was Trouble Kelp. He started shouting, "Commander! You're alive! You're alive!" Root figured out that no one had thought that he had lived.

"Get a hold on yourself Kelp!" Root yelled back at the dancing officer, "Now, if you don't mind, I need to get to a magical hotspot and back to Police Plaza!"

* * *

When Root and Trouble arrived back at LEP headquarters, Foaly was waiting for them.

"Julius! I almost couldn't believe that you were alive, it's so great to see you again!" Foaly grabbed Root's hand and shook it happily.

"Foaly, where's Holly?" Root demanded

"Well, Commander… She… um…" Foaly started.

"Then she really is dead, the pixie wasn't lying." Root cut Foaly off, he didn't want to think too much, or he might do something stupid. Foaly probably had all the cameras recording him. He wanted to get back to the privacy of his home before he lost control of himself.

Foaly gave him a worried look, and then brightened as he was struck at least, that's what it looked like to Root with an idea.

"Come on Commander, there's someone that you'll want to see. I have to call… them up first and get them down here…"

"Pony, I don't feel like seeing anyone right now" Root growled; he wanted to be left alone.

"You'll be glad to see them, don't worry" was the only reply Root could force, blackmail, or bribe out of the centaur. The only person that he would be glad to see now was Holly, but that was impossible now. He wished he had had more time to talk to her before the explosion.

Foaly pushed Root into a spare chair in the corner of the Ops. Booth where he couldn't see any of the monitors, and picked up the communicator and set it to a headset. Root mentally groaned; Foaly was trying to surprise him. He must have seen his sadness and was trying to make him feel better. Root would have to get him later.

"Come on! Pick up already" Foaly grumbled to himself impatiently. Foaly stopped muttering as the mystery person on the line answered. It seemed like the person was a bit annoyed at being called so early.

"Sorry, it's really important. The Commander needs to see you immediately in the Ops. Booth." He paused, "Just come right now!" Foaly terminated the link and grimaced. "I'm in for it now" Foaly groaned

Root chuckled quietly. If he got to see Foaly suffer, maybe it would cheer him up.

Foaly watched the monitors impatiently, drumming his fingers. The centaur perked up suddenly, and his eyes followed some movement across several monitors. He buzzed the mysterious person through.

"FOALY! WHAT IS YOUR PROBLEM! CALLING ME IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT!" a very familiar voice bellowed. Root's head whipped around so fast that it hurt. But, hadn't the centaur confirmed that she was dead? Root gasped as Holly stormed past him without a glance, still yelling. Root noticed that her face was a bit tearstained and she seemed really tired. He wanted to run to her and hug her; he was so happy that Koboi had lied to him. He felt like laughing and crying in relief, but luckily for him, he was still frozen in shock.

Root came out of his trance as Holly laughed, and stood up. He loved the way she laughed, it was so carefree.

"You're confusing me. Then what are you talking about?" Holly asked Foaly.

Foaly pointed in Root's direction, and he took it as his cue to say something, "me, of course."

The elf spun around with her mouth hanging open. Her eyes were filled with astonishment and hope. He stepped closer, trying to maintain complete control of himself. Holly's stunned face turned red.

"You… how…?" she stuttered. Suddenly, all the color left her face and she blindly reached out to the side for something to steady herself. Finding nothing, she staggered slightly. Root quickly grabbed her shoulders.

"Are you all right?" he tried not to sound too frantic, but he wasn't sure how successful he was.

Holly crumpled, but Root caught her and held her limp form against his chest.

"Holly!" he shouted. He carefully picked her up off the ground. Foaly was looking on in disbelief and looked like he wanted to start laughing.

"Wow, I never thought that she'd faint. Do I have this on tape?" the centaur wondered out loud. He rushed to a computer and started typing. "D'Arvit! I left the cameras in here off after the maintenance check earlier." He grumbled to himself

"Foaly, this is no time to be laughing and trying to secure a blackmail tape. Your best friend just fainted!" Root could tell that he was turning his famous color. "Captain!" Root looked back at Holly, who stirred weakly but didn't respond. "D'Arvit, pony! Why didn't you tell me that she was alive? You didn't have to be all mysterious!" Root yelled.

"You know me, I like having fun" Foaly replied with a wink

"Well your fun might mean calling in a medical warlock!" Root growled.

Holly groaned and whispered, "No, I'll be fine"

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**Sorry, that was rushed... I'll try to do better next time, but you have to review first! -big sad puppy dog eyes- Please? And thank you? **


	5. Homeless

**Finally this thing let me download the document, it was being mean to me yesterday -runs and cries- but hey, it worked! Anyways... Thanks so much to all of you that reviewed! You rock!  
**

** Disclaimer: I do not own the Artemis Fowl books or characters or anything else from those books... if I did, either the books wouldn't be that good, and/or a lot of things would've happened differently, and I wouldn't be needing to bring Root back to life for this. Actually, I wouldn't be able to write any of this at all, it would have already happened, or something... Bleh, all this thinking over a disclaimer is confusing me and making my head hurt... **

**A/N: Thoughts are in italics

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"Captain!" A voice said from somewhere above Holly. She was slowly regaining consciousness, but she didn't want to open her eyes yet. Warm arms surrounded her. Such nice strong and comforting arms, too. "D'Arvit, pony! Why didn't you tell me that she was alive? You didn't have to be all mysterious!" the voice continued

"You know me, I like having fun" came a reply: Foaly

"Well your fun might mean calling in a medical warlock!" Holly groaned at the thought of spending the night being examined. Maybe she had made the wrong choice after all.

"No" Holly whispered weakly "I'll be fine"

"Hol- Captain! Are you all right?"

Holly covered her face with her hand; her brief meet with oblivion had given her a headache. She slowly opened her eyes.

"It's not captain anymore, C-Commander," she said. Holly looked disbelievingly up into Root's red face, and began to blush. "You're alive!"

"So are you! I should have never believed Koboi's lies" Root said, mostly to himself

"What lies?" Holly asked

But her question went unheard as Root registered what she had said

"What do you mean it's not captain anymore? Is it Major then?"

Holly shook her head

"That idiot didn't demote you did he?" Root began to swell with anger

"No, I quit before I could be fired"

"You... WHAT?"

"Sool held her under investigation for your 'murder', and threatened to examine every move she made" Foaly quickly explained

"And so I quit and started a PI with Mulch" Holly finished

Root's face became a darker shade of red

"With that CONVICT?"

"You have to admit, he has great connections"

Root snorted at that. Root and Holly realized at the same time that Root was holding her. Both turned an even darker shade of red. Root quickly put her down in the extra chair that he had recently vacated. Luckily, Foaly was too busy gloating about how his wonderful invention had found the commander to notice or comment on this.

"Holly! I bet you can't guess how I found Julius!" Foaly stopped as he saw the look Holly was giving him and caught her meaning, "Never mind, I'll just tell you. A phone call to the Fowl Manor was flagged with key words, so I sent Trouble up to investigate. And look who he found waiting for him! And my key-word phone tap was doubted!" Foaly scoffed. Holly looked back at Root.

"But... But how did you survive the explosion?" Holly asked quietly

Root explained to them about Koboi's fire-shield, the suit, and the acorn in the capsule. Foaly was about to give himself a medal after hearing how important his inventions had turned out to be. The centaur was almost dancing in happiness.

"Commander, now that you've seen how much I'm needed around here, I deserve a raise in budgets."

"You know pony-boy, if your 'wonderful' gadgets had been able to get Holly and I out of the chute before Koboi could start her plan, I wouldn't have needed those other inventions!" Root growled angrily

Foaly gave him a hurt look and looked like he was about to say something, but Root cut him off before he could start.

"Never mind pony, I don't feel like arguing right now. I just want to go home and rest." Root said irritated. He looked back at Holly, who had returned to her normal coloring "We should probably still take you to the infirmary, just to make sure that you're all right."

Holly crossed her arms defiantly "No. If anyone tries to force me, they'll end up needing the visit. I hate medics, they're overly cautious" _even if anyone could get me there, I might hurt the medic_

Foaly sighed, and Root rolled his eyes. Neither pushed the subject.

"Julius, there might be a problem with the going home part…" Foaly turned to Root, "Sool sold it along with most of your possessions"

"First, don't call me Julius civilian, not as long as you work for me. Second, he WHAT?" Root exploded

"He didn't get to your locker yet. The locks are too sophisticated, and I've been, conveniently, too busy to get to it." Foaly continued.

Root cursed Sool angrily. Holly completely agreed with that sentiment. That jerk, Root hadn't even been 'dead' for a week!

"What am I supposed to do then? Sleep here?" Root hissed, clenching his hands as if they itched to wring an invisible neck.

There was complete silence for a moment, when Holly remembered something.

"I… I have an extra guest room at my apartment. Y-You could stay with me until you find a place of your own." Holly could feel her face heating up again.

* * *

Root looked at Holly, trying to keep his face straight. He couldn't believe it. Holly had just offered for him to live at her apartment while he tried to get his place back. _Hopefully, it will take a while to sort it all out_ part of him said. Root mentally slapped himself for thinking like that, she was his officer. _She isn't anymore _his mind whispered slyly. He forced himself to listen to what Foaly was saying. 

"Killing two birds with one stone!" the centaur was saying, "Dear Julius gets a place to stay, and he can make sure that you'll be ok Holly! After the fainting spell and those n…"

"Yes Foaly, exactly." Holly cut him off, glaring and shifting in her seat

"Those what?" Root asked, whatever Foaly was about to say had made Holly very uncomfortable, not to mention angry.

"She's been having…" Foaly started

"Shut up Foaly, it's my business and my business only! If I want to tell someone about it, then _I_ will tell, I've had enough of people sneaking around behind my back and gossiping!" Holly interrupted again with a dangerous glint in her eyes.

"It's not gossip." Foaly said looking at Root

"Captain Short! I'm ordering you to tell me what Foaly is talking about." Root snapped

Holly looked from Foaly to Root and back again, giving both of them glares. Root just barely kept himself from shuddering, if looks could kill…

"I'm no longer in the LEP, so you can't order me around!" She yelled finally, "And Foaly, if you tell him, I'll…" she hissed

"You won't do anything, because he won't tell me. You will."

Holly stood up to argue more, but the sudden change of position left her dizzy. She stumbled and caught herself on a nearby table. Root quickly grabbed her arm and slung it over his shoulder to make sure she wouldn't fall.

"But it looks like I should get you home for now." Root said. He practically carried her out of the building in the direction of her apartment building. He had to drag her out of the room.

"D'Arvit! Let go of me! You rude…" Holly was yelling and trying to wrench her arm free as they passed the secretary. The poor guy was looking fearful and at a loss of what to do.

* * *

"Let me go Commander! I can walk for myself!" Holly snapped at Root as they reached her door. He resisted laughing; she had leaned on him like he was a crutch the whole way and still was, yet she was still insisting that she could make it on her own. Such determination. At least she had stopped fighting to get away. 

"Oh, stop it Cap-Short. You fainted, and now I'm just making sure that you don't hurt yourself." He said to her, trying to keep his temper under control. _Here's a chance to be nicer to her, don't mess it up by exploding._

Holly opened her mouth to retort, but Root cut her off. "If you want me to put you down, just open the door already."

She rolled her eyes, but complied. Root kicked the door closed and let go of Holly's arm and gently pushed her down onto the couch. "Is there anything I can get you?" Root asked

"I thought this was my house, and you were my guest." Holly grumbled, trying to get up. Root pushed her back down.

"Can I get you anything?" Root asked again

Holly sighed and folded her arms "A glass of water would be nice. The glasses are in the cabinet to the left of the sink."

Root chuckled to himself as he walked into the kitchen.

"So now that Sool is most likely to be kicked out, would you like to return to the LEP?" He shouted back at her. He walked back into the living room with the water to see Holly looking at the floor with an undecided look on her face.

"I don't think so," she began, "the PI business is successful enough that I'm making slightly more than I did when I was in Recon, and the hours are more flexible."

Root was split in two: _come back! _half of him wanted to shout at her._ The LEP need you! Plus we'd see each other every day! _But the other half was shouting, _Stay with the PI, you're happy there, and then maybe we can see each other without having to worry about how inappropriate a relationship would be! _Root mentally cursed the last three fourths of himself. _This is Holly; she'd never feel that way about me._

She looked up at him, and he hoped that she wouldn't be able to see his internal conflict. "If the PI goes under, will I still have the option to come back?"

"Of course you can, Short. You're the best officer the LEP has seen."

"You can call me Holly, Commander. Even though we aren't coworkers anymore, we can still be friends. Right?"

"Yes, H-Holly, we can." Root replied, "And since we're friends… you might as well call me Julius"

* * *

**-does happy dance- yay! My head stopped hurting! Now, there's a little blue button over there, do you see it? Could you click it for me? Please? Even if you hated it, it would make my boring day happy.  
**


	6. Pajamas

**Thank you so much to all my wonderful reviewers! -showers reviewers with magical cookies while nonreviewers watch-  
**

**Disclaimer: I own absolutely nothing... -clasps hands begging- But can I own Holly's pajamas? Pretty please with magical sugar on top? **

**(A/N: This story started on a Friday night, and (for the characters) it's really early Saturday morning, just so you know)**

* * *

"Yes H-Holly, we can. And since we're friends… you might as well call me Julius" Root nervously stuttered. His face turned a dark shade of red. 

Holly was shocked; _wow, I never would've expected that from him._

"But, I thought you hated it when people call you Julius" she finally said

"I hate it when people who work for me or people who aren't a friend call me Julius." he replied, "You don't have to call me Julius if you don't want to. Feel free to call me whatever you want."

Holly smiled mischievously, "Sorry to disappoint you Julius, but if I have the privilege, I'm going to use it!"

"More like abuse it. Don't make me regret giving you permission." He had a strange look on his face.

_Is he actually embarrassed about this? _

After a brief silence, Root suddenly cursed under his breath, "D'Arvit! The pony said that everything in my locker was still there, didn't he?"

Holly jerked herself out of her thoughts and racked her memory, "Yeah, I think he did"

"I was so busy trying to get you home that I forgot to go and get that stuff."

"We should go back and get it"

Root gave Holly a look that said 'you must have lost your mind' "I'll go get it, you just stay here."

"If you get lost on the way back, don't blame me," Holly said innocently

"Ha ha, I'll get Foaly to give me a map" Root walked out the door.

Holly finished her water and stood up to take the glass to the sink. She didn't stumble, _So there Julius! I can walk for myself. _Just as she was returning to the couch, there was a knock at the door. Holly looked through the peephole.

* * *

Root opened his locker, extremely happy that Sool hadn't gotten to it yet. He picked up the extra backpack and began dumping the uniforms, regular clothes, and all the other odd things he had in the locker. He was just about to close it back up when he noticed a small box in the corner. _What is that?_ Cautiously picking it up, he shook it. It rattled softly as something small and light hit the sides. _Oh, right._ He stuffed that into his backpack as well. 

"I'll take that," a voice said behind him

"What gives you the right to take my things Sool?" Root turned around to face Ark Sool. He slammed his locker shut.

"I confiscated all of your possessions before you returned, so you are stealing all of that from me." Sool was sneering at him "And you will refer to me by my proper title, dear Julius."

"I'm sorry, I forgot about how much you love formality, 'Idiot' Sool. But you only have the authorization to confiscate my things if I am dead." Root grabbed Sool's hand and placed two of his fingers on his neck where he could feel a pulse. "Hey, you know what? It looks like I just might still be alive."

Sool yanked his hand away, "I don't care. As the commander of the LEP, I'm ordering you to give me that bag!"

Root shoved past him forcefully as Sool made a grab for the pack. Root's fist collided with Sool's cheek.

"Excuse me, _commander_," Root's voice was full of sarcasm, "but I need to go. It was lovely seeing you again." He walked to the exit, leaving a very stunned Sool to sit in the locker room rubbing his cheek.

* * *

Holly looked out the peephole. It was the guard from earlier. _Stupid guards!_

She opened the door, "Now what do you want?" she yelled him

"G-good morning Miss Short," he stammered, "W-we never got to finish our conversation earlier."

"Look, I just had a very stressful day, and I would like to get some rest. Come at a more reasonable hour, like noon." Holly shut the door and watched out the peephole to see what he would do. He nervously raised his fist to knock again, thought better of it, and walked away.

_What, not brave enough to take on a lone female on your own? _Holly chuckled to herself.

She sat down again and picked up a book that she had left lying open the other night. After a few pages, she dozed off.

Holly awoke to someone pounding on the door. She sleepily got up and opened it.

"About time! I was starting to think you had passed out or something." Root grumbled

"No, just trying to annoy you as much as possible by falling asleep." She closed the door and locked it yawning, "I think I'll go to bed now, so I don't become a zombie tomorrow, or later today. Whichever it is."

"Good night then, Holly."

"'Night Julius, the guest room is the second door." She said pointing down the short little hall. "The first door is the bathroom that you'll use, and my room is at the end of the hall."

"Thanks again for letting me stay here."

"Of course" Holly checked all the windows and rechecked that the curtains were closed, and went back to bed.

* * *

Holly groggily entered the kitchen the next morning. Root was sitting at the table with a cup of coffee, a nettle smoothie and a newspaper. 

"Morning" she walked over to the coffee pot

Root looked up while taking a drink, and promptly began choking with laughter on the hot drink.

"What?" _has he lost his mind?_

Between the laughing and coughing, Root was unable to talk, so he just pointed at her.

Mystified, Holly looked down, and realized what she was wearing: the girly pajamas that her mother had forced her to wear in exchange for the apartment. The shirt was light blue with spaghetti straps, with a drawing of a bouquet of roses and other flowers on the front. The pants were covered with scattered flowers to match the top. She felt her face go a deep red.

"Do you have a problem with what I'm wearing?" She growled angrily

Root's laughing/coughing fit intensified. After a minute, he got back in control of himself enough to talk.

"Sorry, it's just… I'd never expect you to ever wear something that… feminine," he gasped between coughs. He covered his mouth with his hand and shook with silent laughter.

Holly glared at him, "My parents offered to pay for my home if I'd agree to wear an outfit of their choosing regularly." She explained, "After managing to keep my mother away from the skirts and dresses, she agreed to compromise and chose pajamas. I almost ended up with a nightgown, but luckily, she liked how I looked in this better."

Root looked like he was trying to keep from laughing again. He failed. It was a good thing that he had stopped choking on the coffee; it might've made him suffocate, he was laughing so hard (for him, anyway).

Holly restrained herself from hitting him with something. He took a deep breath, looked up, and then continued chuckling.

"I'm going to shower and change now." She grabbed the mostly empty nettle smoothie and dumped it on him. He looked shocked for a moment, took a breath as if to yell something, but burst out laughing again.

"Oh, SHUT UP!" Holly stormed out of the kitchen and into her room, slamming the door. Cursing under her breath, she walked into the master bath and got into the shower. _So what if my mother bribed me to wear this? Julius didn't have to laugh at me!_ She smiled to herself; _Actually, he has a nice laugh. It shows a sweeter side of him… If he could hear my thoughts, I'd be dead. _

* * *

Root grabbed several paper towels and tried to clean the nettle smoothie off of him. _Almost being killed, being believed dead, having all my possessions taken away from me, and getting drenched by a nettle smoothie was completely worth seeing Holly dressed like that_. Chuckling, he tried to get the remains of the smoothie out of his hair. I_f only I had a camera… She'll probably never let me see her in it again though. _Deciding that he had removed all of the nettle smoothie that was possible without water, Root went back to his coffee and newspaper. 

Maybe ten minutes later, there was a knock at the door. _Who…?_ Root got up to answer, since Holly was still in the shower. It was one of the security guards for the apartment building.

"Can I help you?" he asked the confused guard.

The guard looked at the apartment number and back at Root. "Um… I must be mistaken, I thought this was Miss Short's apartment."

"Yes, this is her home. She's occupied right now, can I help you?"

"What are you doing here? I don't know of anyone living with Miss Short." The guard looked at him suspiciously

"Why is it any of your business?"

"It's a mater of security"

"Is there a rule here or something that _every_ security guard know _everything_ about _everyone_ living here or something?"

"Miss Short has had problems that have led us to tighten security for her apartment."

"What problems?"

"Neighbors have reported screams coming from the apartment. She denies it, but we believe someone is stalking her…" the guard seemed to realize something, drew his weapon, and pointed it at Root, "Put your hands on your head, and get on your knees. You are under arrest for breaking and entering and aggravated harassment. What have you done with Miss Short?" the guard demanded, putting Root into handcuffs

"I haven't done anything with her, she's in the shower!" the guard walked towards Holly's room, just as she peeked out the door.

"WHAT IS GOING ON?" she yelled, opening the door wider to be able to see everything. Root gulped, it looked like she had just gotten out of the shower; she still had a towel wrapped tightly around herself. _Wow, this day is getting more and more interesting by the minute._ He glanced away before she could see him looking; Holly didn't look like she was in the best of moods, and he wanted to stay on her good side.

"I've caught the elf that was stalking you Miss Short." the guard looked slightly nervous, but pleased with himself

"The only person stalking me is you! Julius is my guest; release him, and get out of my apartment!" Holly didn't sound very happy at all about finding this before she could get dressed.

The guard looked stunned, "Are you sure no one was stalking you?"

"NOBODY WAS STALKING ME! IT WAS A STUPID NIGHTMARE! GET OUT OF MY HOME BEFORE I HAVE _YOU_ ARRESTED FOR HARASSMENT!" She exploded. Quickly, the guard unlocked the cuffs, and ran out of the apartment.

Holly spun around and slammed the door to her room.

* * *

**That seemed a little rushed... Ok, now that you've read, it's time to review! You know you want some magical cookies and a hyper reply from me -holds out a magical cookie and offers it tauntingly- **


	7. Repayment

**Hello! I'd like to say 'thank you so much!' to all of my reviewers -showers reviewers in heaps of magical cookies until all are completely burried-**

** Disclaimer: I don't own anything. The characters and books have all taken over mind, so I think it's safe to say that they own me...  
**

* * *

Root sat in Holly's living room, thinking. _I wonder if there's a way to get Holly back in a good mood. She's had a rough day._ When Root had come back from getting his things from his locker, he had stopped by the Ops. Booth. 

-Flashback-flashback-flashback-flashback

_"What are you still doing here Julius?" Foaly asked as he buzzed the Commander in_

_"I had to come and get my things from my locker." Root took a deep breath, "Thanks for not letting Sool into it."_

_"It wasn't intentional, I just hadn't gotten around to it yet." Foaly winked. Root glared back at him, "By the way, did you know that Holly's birthday is on Sunday?"_

_"Really?"_

_"Yup, I believe it'll be her 85th birthday. But I can't be sure, so don't make any bets or anything."_

_Root grunted._

_"So why are you back in here again?"_

_"I need a map to Holly's place."_

_Foaly laughed at him and printed the map._

-Endflashback-endflashback-endflashback-endflashback-endflashback-

_I__ could give her a birthday present… But what would I get Holly?_ The little box that Root had taken from his locker suddenly came to his mind, _Would she like something like that? I doubt it…_ Root was jerked from his thoughts as Holly entered the room.

"Sorry about the stupid guard. They've been really paranoid lately." Holly said after a pause

"Before the guard tried to arrest me, he said that they've tightened security because they thought someone was stalking you. And that there have been reports of screams coming from your apartment. What was he talking about?"

Holly looked away uncomfortably and blushed, "Well… um,"

"You yelled at him something about a nightmare."

"I-I've been having nightmares." She said softly, still staring at the floor.

"About what?" Root was surprised by how good he was being about not becoming nervous or agitated

"Please, Julius, I don't want to talk about it right now. Maybe later." Holly looked at him pleadingly

"Fine" Root picked up his newspaper, trying to look like he was reading. He watched Holly pick up her book out of the corner of his eye.

_This must be what Foaly was talking about earlier… What is it that she doesn't want me to know?_ Root sat and pondered what Holly would have nightmares about for most of the day.

* * *

"Hey, the TV film about the B'wa Kell Rebellion is coming on soon. Do you want to see how accurate they got it?" Holly asked that night 

"And have to relive all of that? At least the victory is included. Sure, why not."

Holly turned the TV to the correct channel and sat next to Root on the couch with a small yawn.

"Sorry in advance if I fall asleep, Foaly's midnight call and surprise has taken its toll on me."

"Just as long as you don't snore."

"I'll be sure to snore as loud as possible"

"If you do, then I'll throw some water on you to wake you up" Root chuckled

"You don't seem to realize that if you do, you might find yourself begging on the street." She gave him a slightly reproachful look

"I wouldn't go quietly, so you'd have to bodily throw me out. Then I could have you arrested for assaulting the LEP Commander."

"I could just call back that security guard and tell him that you're holding me hostage"

"So we'd both end up in jail all because of a centaur waking you up in the middle of the night… Do us both a favor and just don't snore."

"Can't make any guarantees, sorry." Holly grinned. Root just rolled his eyes

* * *

About half an hour into the movie, Root glanced at Holly. Her head had fallen on her shoulder, and she was sound asleep. _At least she hasn't started snoring yet; guess she doesn't want to be arrested._ Root chuckled to himself. 

The unexpected noise made her stir. She shivered slightly, as if she was cold, and shifted closer to the warmth next to her. Root froze as Holly unconsciously rested her head on his shoulder and snuggled even closer. He felt like he was going to have a heart attack.

_Breathe, Julius. Calm down, you might wake her up and end up in the hospital. She's just cold, and you're a source of warmth. This wouldn't be happening if she was a little more awake._

Cautiously, Root wrapped his arm around her shoulders, hoping this would warm her up enough that she would settle and return to deep sleep. A sigh of relief escaped him when Holly stopped moving.

_I have to be careful, if she wakes up and finds my arm around her, she'll kill me. Or scream for that guard._ Almost as if to spite him, his left arm began to itch, but he ignored it. _I can't believe Holly's actually asleep in my arms. She seems so vulnerable like this… It actually feels nice to be keeping her safe._ Root mentally slapped himself for thinking like that

_Why is it so bad? She doesn't work for you anymore. There's nothing wrong with it. _

Silently cursing the traitorous part of himself, he turned his attention back to the movie.

Root opened his eyes sleepily, the movie was over and the credits were scrolling up the screen. Holly was still snuggled against him, using his chest as a pillow and his left arm like a shawl. _I need to move before she wakes up._

Slowly, Root stood up, gently laying Holly down. _Maybe I should get her to bed. _

Supporting her shoulders with one arm, and under her knees with the other, he picked her up and carried her in the direction of her room. She shifted her head back onto his shoulder, letting out a small contented sigh. Root prayed that she couldn't feel his rapidly beating heart.  
_  
To her, I'm just moving furniture that has a heating feature. Nothing more. But that sigh…_ He quickly stopped that train of thought and concentrated on putting Holly into her bed.

Suddenly missing his body heat, Holly reached out, "Wha…?" she mumbled, curling her legs closer to the pillow.

"Sweet dreams, Holly" Root gently pulled the blanket up to cover her and went to his own room.

* * *

The soft sound of a door closing nearby brought Holly back to consciousness. A dream about warmth and flying was lingering in the back of her mind. She looked around confused, _I thought I was watching that movie… how'd I end up in bed? Why do I feel so cold all of a sudden?_ Holly pulled the blanket up under her chin. Realization hit her and she felt herself blush. _I must have fallen asleep, and Julius carried me in here… Why couldn't I have been awake for that?_

She cursed herself under her breath for thinking like and went back to sleep.

The next morning, the front door slamming shut jerked Holly awake. She heard the sounds of Root opening a cabinet. _Where was he?_

She walked into the kitchen; Root was standing with his back to her and pouring himself a cup of coffee, "Good morning"

He jumped "Holly! Good morning, I didn't hear you come in." He looked a little nervous, "Today's your birthday, isn't it?"

_My birthday…? I completely forgot about my birthday… _"Yeah, I guess it is… How did you know about it?"

"Foaly told me."

"How did he know? I didn't tell him. In fact, I haven't told anyone, I completely forgot about it." Holly wondered

"Maybe he's stalking you"

Holly snorted, "Is there a conspiracy between everybody to make me become paranoid or something?"

"If there was, do you really expect me to honestly answer that?" Root grinned

"I'll just take that as a yes." Holly went to the fridge to get a nettle smoothie, "So was the movie last night any good? I fell asleep pretty fast."

"I actually fell asleep too, maybe a fourth of the way through." Holly turned around and looked at Root. His face was a little red. _What's that about?_

"So did I sleep walk to my room, or did you carry me there?" She asked, watching him turn a slightly darker shade of red. He cleared his throat.

"I took you."

"Thanks for not waking me up, I was exhausted."

Root just nodded in response. "I'll be right back." He walked off in the direction of his room.

He came back a couple of minutes later carrying a small box that had a bow attached, "This is mix between a birthday and a thank you present for letting me stay here. So, Happy Birthday, and thanks." He grunted awkwardly, handing it to her.

"A present? You didn't have to." Holly took it cautiously, "So is this from all of the conspirators, or just you?" She shook the box, and it rattled softly

"Just me. Feeling a little paranoid, Holly?" He chuckled

"I'll get Foaly to get me a tin-foil hat. So is this going to explode on me?"

"Why don't you open it and find out."

"Fine…" Holly opened the box, "Wow… Julius, it's beautiful! Thank you!"

* * *

**Once again, magical cookies for all that review! You know you want to :D  
**


	8. Fights

**Hello again! I'd like to say Thank you so much to all of my reviewers, and Thanks Crystal for helping me with this chapter! -showers reviewers in confetti and magical cookies- Now for the chapter:D**

**Disclaimer: me- What do I own? **

**Voices- NOTHING! HAHA! **

**me- -cries- You voices are so cruel!**

**-Voicies** **cackle and point at me- **

**me- ok, I'll get on with the chapter now -runs and cuddles kitty- Kitty? Why do the voices have to be so mean!**

-------------------------------------------

"Wow… Julius, it's beautiful! Thank you!

It was a necklace: a small sliver acorn pendant, and every inch along the chain, there was a small round blue bead. Holly picked it up and examined it. _It seems a little old, but it's still pretty. If my parents were still alive, they'd be laughing and blackmailing me to wear it all the time… Not that I need any encouragement to…_

"Glad you like it"

"Now the only question is if it has a tracker or a bomb that can be activated by a remote detonator" She winked at him, turning away from him and struggling to clasp it around her neck. _Stupid clasp! Why won't it cooperate?_

"Need help with that?" Root chuckled

"Yes, I don't think I've ever been able to clasp jewelry on my own. Unless this is part of the conspiracy."

"Let me show you what it feels like to get it right," Holly felt her face heat up at the touch of his rough hands holding hers and using them to clasp the necklace.

"Thanks." She replied, still facing away from Root. He suddenly removed his hands from hers, and she felt strangely disappointed about it. _Oh, stop it! This is your commander… or he used to be…_

"So… did you sleep well last night? No nightmares?" He asked awkwardly

"You would've heard me if I did…"

"Holly, please tell me what's bothering you so much that you're having such vivid nightmares."

"Julius… I really don't want to…" _What would he think if he knew?_

"Holly, you have to talk to someone"

"The nightmares have stopped! So there isn't anything to worry about!" Holly was starting to raise her voice

"Would you stop being so stubborn?" Root was starting to turn purple

"Would you stop being so nosy!" She was shouting

"I'm just concerned about you!" he shouted back

"Well, I'm fine, so there's no need for your concern!"

"Stupid prideful female!" Root muttered angrily under his breath, but not quietly enough

"Idiotic, bossy male!" She yelled at him, and stormed out of the kitchen. She slammed the door to her room, flopping onto her bed in frustration; _Why can't he mind his own business?_

A few minutes later, Holly heard the front door open and close. She walked back into the kitchen and found a note on the table.

Holly, I've gone to see about my house and possessions. -Julius

_Bet he just wants to get away from me for a bit… Not that I can blame him._

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Root came back to Holly's apartment carrying bags of new clothes. Holly was flipping through the channels on her TV. _This is your chance to make up for your stupid temper. _Root cleared his throat.

"Hey."

"Oh, hello." Luckily, Holly didn't look like she was mad at him. _She's still wearing the necklace, that's a good sign… Wait; didn't she say she's always had issues with clasps? Maybe she couldn't get it off. Oh stop being so pessimistic!_

"I'm sorry about yelling at you earlier." He said awkwardly after a pause

"It's not your fault. I started the shouting… So I'm sorry." Holly smiled at him, "So what did you find out?"

"Just that the people currently living in my house won't leave. Foaly also said that trying to track down most of my possessions would be very difficult. Sool didn't keep any records of what went where."

"That idiot." Holly muttered angrily. Root chuckled

"So what's in the bags?"

"Clothes and other basic things." He dug around in the bag and pulled out a box of fungus cigars, "Mind if I smoke?"

"Yes, I mind. I don't want my house smelling like your office. The first time I walked in there, I thought you were keeping a rotting corpse to intimidate people or something." Holly winked at him

"Watch it. I don't know if I'll want to take officers back that bad mouth their once-superior officers so much." He replied, dropping the cigars back in the bag and sitting down next to her. She elbowed him in the arm

"You need a better sense of humor" she replied, Root just glared at her in response.

There was a slightly awkward pause, while Holly continued to flip channels.

"Hey, looks like someone found out that you're alive." Holly stopped on a news channel, which had a picture of the commander with a caption of 'Commander Julius Root, Dead or Alive?'

'…possible sighting of Commander Julius Root, who allegedly was killed in an explosion orchestrated by Opal Koboi. But is he really alive? The LEP has scheduled a press conference for tomorrow, so this might be our chance to find out. In other news…' The reporter was saying

There was a knock at the door. "It better not be that guard…" Holly muttered, she got up and peered through the peephole.

_----------------------------------------------------- _

_Stupid guard! Why didn't he catch the hint yesterday?_ Holly glared at the people out the peephole. It was the head of security and the guard that had tried to arrest Root.

"WHAT DO YOU WANT NOW?" Holly yelled, slamming her fists loudly onto the door.

"Uh, Holly…?" Root asked nervously from the couch

"It's the guard. And he brought his boss to hide behind."

"Miss Short? I'd like to apologize to you and your guest." The head of security yelled through the door, "May we come in?"

Holly pulled the door open reluctantly, but blocked them from entering.

"Miss Short. I offer my most sincere apologies for this guard's rash actions yesterday morning."

"Are you sorry enough to stop watching my apartment all the time?" Holly fought to keep the sarcasm out of her voice when she said 'watching'; _More like 'stalking'!_

"Yes, Miss Short, of course. We trust that your guest will make any possible intruder reluctant to enter."

Holly glared daggers at the head of security, "There was never any stalker."

Holly heard Root come up behind her.

"Sir, I am very sorry for this guard wrongfully attempting to arrest you."

"Thank you for the apology. You should train your guards to think before they act." Root grunted

"Hey… you know, you look really familiar…" The guard in question suddenly said to Root.

"Yeah, he's the innocent elf you idiotically tried to arrest yesterday." Holly replied sarcastically, slamming the door in the guards' faces.

Forgetting that Root was standing right behind her, she spun around and ran straight into him. Both stumbled, grabbing each other to keep their balance.

Holly grabbed Root's shoulders, and Root was holding her waist. They stared, shocked, into the other's eyes, their faces inches apart._ Oh gods, I'm going to have a heart attack!_

_ --------------------------------------_

**Yay! Another chapter done:D Now its time for all of you to review! Please? Those of you that do get more magical cookies and magical cake! Those of you who don't, you will get**

**Voices- NOTHING! **

**me- See? Aren't the voices mean? **


	9. Awkward Moments

**Wow, it's been forever since I wrote anything... School's kept me really busy... -sniffle- Anyway, here's another chapter. I hope you'll like it. **

**Disclaimer: I own nothing except a nagging feeling that I'm forgetting to do something really important.**

* * *

Holly and Root looked away from each other nervously, taking a step away from each other. Root had never felt speechless before, but his current loss for words brought a whole new meaning of the word to him; _I can't believe we were that close… and she was actually awake… What is she thinking?_

Root couldn't bring himself to look at Holly, afraid of what he would see written in her face. He cleared his throat awkwardly.

"W-well, I'll just be… o-organizing my stuff,"

"I need to… go over some, uh, old case files" Holly sounded nervous as well, _Oh great, now she's completely freaked out._

Quickly grabbing his bag, Root rushed past Holly, avoiding her eyes. As he walked away, he heard her take a shuddering breath and go into the kitchen. In what seemed like an eternity of no more than fifteen steps, he finally reached his room.

Root leaned against the door, closing carefully. Slowly, he let out the breath he hadn't realized he was holding.

"Oh gods..." he muttered to himself, _What is going through Holly's mind right now? Is she freaked out, is she disgusted...? _All sorts of questions raced through Root's mind; _She might not have even really noticed anything. I'm just jumping to conclusions. What was that anyway? Not even five seconds, the longest short time span of my life, probably won't be worth a second thought to her. In Holly's eyes, all that happened was a clumsy moment, followed by her former boss acting really flustered and strange. D'Arvit! Why did I have to act so stupidly?! Now she'll be thinking of me as a lunatic._

The commander began pacing around the guest room. _Why are you even agonizing over this!? She probably doesn't care about you at all. Well, that's not completely true. If she didn't give a care about you, then she wouldn't have offered you a place to stay... What does she think of me anyways? Am I just her commander, or former commander? Am I a father-like figure? A surrogate father? She could just think of me as a friend, or just an annoying elf that seems to refuse to stay out of her life. Oh gods...What if I'm being a burden to her? She could just be being nice to make up for not completely listening to my "last" orders or something._

Root reached into his bag with a slightly shaky hand, reaching for the fungus cigars. He had stuck one into the corner of his mouth, and was reaching for the lighter when he remembered how Holly detested them. Cursing the nervous habit, he threw the unlit cigar back into the bag and plunked down on the bed.

* * *

Holly walked shakily into the kitchen. A door closed quietly in the direction Root had gone. Holly leaned her elbows against the countertop, burying her face into her hands. She could still feel the ghost weight of Root's hands holding her around the waist. _Wow, what just happened? _

She took a deep breath, trying to calm herself. It didn't work. She could still hear her heart pounding in her ears. _I don't think I've ever been that close to anyone in my life. I must be getting worked up over absolutely nothing. I've run into people before, and it hasn't bothered me that much. So why is it now? _Holly shook her head at herself and ran her hand through her short hair. _It did feel nice to be held... What's going through his mind? Probably "that stupid clumsy female can't watch where she's going." or something like that. Or maybe nothing about me, or what happened, at all. Might be wondering how he can get away with smoking in here..._

Holly grabbed her bag that she had brought home from work and pulled out the paperwork she had to finish. She shook her head ruefully; no matter where she worked, there always seemed to be endless paperwork. She stared at the sheet in front of her, still lost in her thoughts. _I wonder what he thinks of me as... He did seem to infer that I'm his friend. But that might've just been because I made a reference to him as my friend. I could just be an acquaintance. Am I still considered an employee? Maybe not... Oh, I don't know. He might not think anything of me. I'm just an annoying ex-employee who he's being forced to stay with. I bet he can't wait to leave and smoke his nasty cigars. _Holly let out a shaky breath, feeling put down by the last possibility, _Why does that thought bother me so much? I'm just being stupid. Stop distracting yourself and finish the stupid paperwork already!_

Ten minutes later, she still hadn't made any progress. In frustration, Holly stuffed everything back into her bag. She crept down the hall to her room. When she passed Root's room, she could hear him shuffling around, and occasionally muttering to himself. She had to keep herself from giggling at the thought of the Commander talking to himself. Holly quietly continued down the hall and closed the door with a soft click.

* * *

**Yeah, that was really short and bad... But please click the review button and tell me what you thought. I'll give you magical hot chocolate (or for the people in the southern hemisphere, magical ice cream :D)**


	10. Press conference

**Hey, check it out, I'm actually updating! -dies of shock- I know, it's been forever. School took over my life with a ton of homework every night, and all sorts of projects and tests and exams. But you don't want to hear about that. So without further rambling from me, here's the next chapter. :D**

Holly awoke to the sound of a something shattering, closely followed by a curse just loud enough to be distinguishable. She tossed the covers aside and was just about to go and investigate when she remembered who was probably responsible for the noises, what she was wearing, and his reaction the previous morning. She quickly threw on her oversized sweatshirt that fell nearly to her knees, walked down the hall and peeked around the corner.

"What was that noise?" She asked Root who was bent over picking something up.

"I dropped a coffee cup."

"Need any help cleaning it up?"

"Nope, I got it."

"Ok, just don't cut yourself too bad."

Root just grunted in reply. _Wow, I just sounded like a mother scolding a child "don't cut yourself"._ Holly thought to herself as she headed back to her room to take a shower.

* * *

Root gingerly finished picking up the shards of the coffee mug. _Stupid klutz, you just had to wake her up by dropping something._

After cleaning up, Root poured himself another cup of coffee and sat down to read the morning paper.

A short time later, Holly emerged with her short hair still slightly wet.

"What, you don't trust my cleaning skills?" Root snorted when he noticed she was wearing fuzzy slippers that probably went with her pajama set. Up until now, she had gone barefoot inside.

"Honestly, no. You can't expect to get every single piece of glass."

Root was about to reply when the communicator he had picked up the previous day rang.

"What?" he answered

"Is that the way you greet the person you owe your life to?" Foaly pouted

"I didn't realize I owe my life to a donkey" Root said skeptically, "What do you want? Today's Sunday."

Foaly sighed heavily, "Julius, Julius, we do need to work on your manners."

"Call me Julius one more time, and I'll teach you what happens when you don't treat your superiors with respect. And you're the one lecturing me on my manners."

"Oh do stop bickering you two." Vinyaya stepped into view, "Commander Root, please report to LEP headquarters so we may tell the press about your current status."

"Great, I get to spend my Sunday morning answering stupid questions from the press." Root muttered under his breath. He heard Holly chuckle at his comment.

"What was that Commander?" Vinyaya asked

"I'll be there in about twenty minutes." Root shut off the communicator and turned to Holly. "Eavesdropper" he accused her

Holly feigned a wide-eyed look of innocence, "You're the one answering calls right in front of me."

"What, you've never heard of privacy? Such a wonderful hostess you are."

"You make an excellent guest, questioning you're gracious hostess' qualities."

"Well-"

"Better not keep the press waiting Julius." Holly winked at him, taking away his retort of her abusing her privileges. That one little gesture made him feel elated. _Stop that! She's your... ex-employee. _He knew nothing intelligent would come out of his mouth if he opened it, so he just pretended to glare at her.

* * *

_Why did I just wink at him? _Holly wondered _Could he have taken offense to that? Oh stop it, you can't take it back now. _She covered up her embarrassment by turning around and getting a nettle smoothie out of the fridge. _I really need to eat something other than nettle smoothies all the time._

She glanced back at Root, who was staring at the table with a strange look on his face. "W-well then, I guess I should be going..."he got up and walked toward the door. He turned around and opened his mouth, paused and said, "Bye."

"Bye." she replied as he shut the door. _What was that about... It seemed like he was going to say something else. I wonder what he was going to say. Probably nothing important._

Holly took the seat Root had previously occupied. It was still warm. She picked up the paper he had been reading before she had come in.

* * *

Holly plopped down on the sofa and turned on the TV to the news channel that the LEP's press conference was supposed to be on. She was just in time, Vinyaya was up at the podium saying, "...lost an important member of the LEP trying to stop Opal Koboi's plot to reveal the People to the humans. However, we have just discovered that this member is still alive. I would like to welcome Commander Julius Root back to the force." Vinyaya gestured to someone standing behind the stage just out of view. A red-faced Root stepped up to the podium, as reporters began shouting questions at him. 

"Commander Root, Commander Root! How did you survive?"

"Ms. Koboi made a miscalculation that just barely allowed me to live through the explosion."

"Commander Root, did ex-Captain Holly Short play any part in your supposed death as was initially believed?"

Holly rolled her eyes at the reporter's question and was tempted to change the channel, but she wanted to hear how Root would respond.

His face turned such a dark shade of red, it almost looked purple. "Holly Short was as much a victim of Opal Koboi as I was. Koboi intended for me to die, and for Holly to be blamed for my death. Holly tried to save me, and people are still suspicious of her! I demand that you apologize this instant." He was glaring at the gnome that had asked the question.

"S-sorry" the gnome stuttered, slowly backing away from the podium.

_Wow, he got that angry about for my sake... I wonder why. I guess that means he don't think of me as just an ex-employee. _

"Have you been in touch with Ms. Short since your return?" Holly's attention returned to the press conference at that question.

"Yes."

"What was her reaction to seeing you still alive?" Holly felt her face warm, and she fervently hoped that Root wouldn't tell them that she had fainted.

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"We are curious to know."

"Well, it's none of your business." Holly breathed a sigh of relief

"You wouldn't be hiding something, would you Commander?"

"I thought this was press conference was supposed to be about my still being alive, not for gossip."

"Commander, we've heard that your home has been sold; where will you be staying?"

"I'm staying with a good friend of mine" Holly couldn't help smiling broadly at that. _Why do I feel so happy about something so simple? Oh well, who cares, he said I'm a good friend of his!_

_ "_What are you going to do about Commander Sool?"

Vinyaya stepped forward, "He will be returning to the job he had before Commander Root's supposed death. Thank you for your time." Vinyaya and Root walked back into the building behind the podium, ignoring the reporters' frenzied attempts to get their attention again.

* * *

An hour later, Root was walking up to Holly's apartment. _I guess that wasn't too bad. Though I wonder why the reporters were so interested in Holly's reaction... Oh gods, I hope one of them wasn't a gossip columnist._

Root reached Holly's apartment and opened the door. Holly was sitting on the couch watching the news.

"Hi." she greeted him

"Hey." he sat down on the couch within an inch of her. _What's wrong with you Julius, sitting so close to her? There's still at least a third of the couch left that you could've sat down on. I really hope this doesn't make her uncomfortable. And hopefully _I_ won't get uncomfortable either. Maybe I should say something to cover it up._"So, did you watch the press conference?" _Great, now I sound conceited. You idiot. _

"Yeah, thanks for defending me, my good friend." She smiled. _I love her smile. Gah! Stop thinking about your employee, no ex-employee... well, ex-but-still-potentially-could-be-your-future-employee, like that!_

"Y-you're welcome... I hope you don't mind me calling you that." He finally stammered out.

"Not at all." Her cheeks reddened slightly, and she was still grinning to herself as she returned her attention to the TV.

Root realized that he was staring at her, so he quickly forced himself to look at the TV as well. _Something is wrong with me for sure._

* * *

Holly was staring at the TV, but not paying attention to what the reporter was talking about at all. She was still smiling. _Stop it! You probably look like a fool, watching the TV with that silly grin on your face._ She took a deep breath for composure and finally stopped smiling._ That's much better. _

"Oh, have I given you a key yet?" Holly suddenly said

"Huh? Oh... no you haven't."

"Let me get you the spare." Holly got up and walked to the kitchen. She had to search through a couple of drawers before she finally found it. She walked back into the living room and held the key out to Root.

"Here you go." He took hold of the other end.

"Thanks."

She plopped back down next to him, so close their arms were almost touching. _Talk about invading personal space! Why did I do that?  
_  
"Holly, thanks again for letting me stay with you."

"Of course. I couldn't let a good friend live on the streets." She could feel herself start to grin idiotically again.

To her suprise, Root smiled back at her. She examined his face._ He looks really nice when he smiles. I hope he never stops... What am I thinking_

Holly found herself looking into Root's eyes. She felt like she was frozen to her seat. _Quit staring at him!_ Holly jumped up suddenly. "Th-there's some, uh, paper work that I need to finish... Uh, I'm going to go, uh, work on that.." _How stupid did that sound. _Her face had heated up so much, it felt like her cheeks could have been on fire. She feld into the kitchen, grabbing the file she had brought home with her, and sat facing away from the living room and worked on her paper work for the rest of the day.

**Yay! I finally finished chapter ten! -dances around excitedly- Hopefully I'll be able to post the next chapter soon. Until then, could you click that little button down there and tell me what you thought? Pretty please? With extra cookies on top?  
**


	11. Unexpected Dinner

**Yay, I'm updating again! Isn't it amazing? Thanks a bunch to my reviewers! You guys are the best.  
**

Root returned to Holly's apartment Monday evening after his first day back at work. By the complete silence, he guessed that he had beat Holly back. He felt exhausted and hungry, he had spent nearly the entire day being visited by employees and other random people welcoming him back and wanting him to tell them exactly how he had survived. Surprisingly, he only lost his temper a few times, but he had still spent the entire day just barely keeping it under control. His thoughts returned to what Foaly had said earlier about Holly's nightmares.

-flashback-flashback-flashback-flashback-

_"Hey Julius, it's good to see that you and Holly haven't killed each other yet." The centaur said while entering Root's office._

_"Don't call me Julius, donkey. And how can you be sure that I haven't killed her?" Root stifled a sigh of exasperation  
_

_Foaly snorted, "If you had even tried to kill her, I seriously doubt that you would still be in one piece... So, did anything... uh... unusual happen over the weekend?" _

_"What? Oh, you're talking about her nightmares."_

_"So did she tell you about them then, or did she have another one?"_

_"She told me that she's been having them, but not what they're about."_

_"You should really talk to her about them, it seems like they've really been bothering her. She's refused to talk to Mulch and/or I about them, and she nearly killed me when I suggested that she talk to a councilor. Since you two are such 'good friends' now, you have a better chance at getting her to talk to you."_

_"So I take it you watched the press conference too."_

_"How could you tell?" Foaly grinned, "But seriously..."_

_"Fine, donkey. If I don't come back to work tomorrow, you'll know why."_

_"Oh come on, she would never kill or injure a 'good friend' of hers."_

_"Oh shut up you donkey, before I cut your budgets in half." _

-endflashback-endflashback-endflashback-endflashback-

_How under the Earth am I going to get her to talk about them, though? _His thoughts were interrupted by his stomach growling. _Maybe I could somehow trick her into it... Oh please, how am I going to do that? I guess I could try to bully her into it. _He snorted at that thought as he walked into his room. She'd probably end up kicking him out of her house if he tried to intimidate her. _Besides, I've just gotten on her good side; I don't want her to regard me as an enemy again. Well, then how am I going to trick... wait, maybe I could bribe her into it. If I take her to dinner... oh my, what would she think of me doing something like that?_

Root was startled out of his thoughts at the sound of the front door opening and shutting. He looked into the living room and watched as Holly threw her backpack onto the couch and stomped into the kitchen.

"Something wrong?" He asked, trying not to sound nervous.

"Why do you think something's wrong?" She asked, turning around to face him

"I could hear you throwing something and stomping into the kitchen from my room."

"Just something Mulch said..." she muttered, turning away again

* * *

_-flashback-flashback-flashback-flashback-_

_It was near the end of the day when Mulch wandered into Holly's office. _

_"Hey, how are you feeling?" He asked  
_

_"You've asked me that five times today, the answer is still fine." Holly replied through gritted teeth, "If there's something specific you're referring to, just say it already."_

_ "Fine," __Mulch took a deep breath,__ "are you having trouble coping with Root's death?" _

_"Did you watch the news this weekend?" _

_"No. This weekend I was... uh... not watching the news." Holly raised an eyebrow at his answer. Mulch quickly changed the subject. "What was so important about the news? Was there a story about you or something?"_

_"If you hadn't been 'not watching the news' this weekend, you would know that Root isn't dead."_

_"That's a pitiful way to try to get me off your case, Holly." _

_Holly grabbed the paper off her desk and threw it at him. The front page had the headline "Commander Julius Root back from the dead". Mulch peered at the headline, looked at her, then looked back at the paper he was holding with bewilderment written on his face. _

_"It's amazing how much faith you have in what your partner's words." Holly said sarcastically_

_"Hey! I guess he is alive... He isn't going to try to arrest me is he?"_

_"Why would I know something like that?"_

_"Well anyway, this is great! Now you have someone to talk to about your nightmares!"_

_"Mulch, I don't know what you're talking about."_

_"Did you bump your head during the weekend or something? I'll have to call Julius up and tell him that you need help remembering those nightmares you were having about his death. I'm sure he'll help you." _

_"Calling him will probably remind him that he wants to arrest you."_

_"I'll leave an anonymous letter for him at the LEP." _

_"Mulch-"_

_"Holly, you probably should go see him. Maybe talking to him will help you feel better."_

_"I feel fine!" she shouted at him_

_"And this fineness is why you're yelling at me?"_

_Mulch ran out of the room as Holly took a step towards him with her fists clenched._

-endflashback-endflashback-endflashback-endflashback-

"You know... I don't really feel like drinking a nettle smoothie tonight." Root was saying, "So, uh, there's this little cafe kind of near where my old place was... Do you want to go there with me?"

_Whoa, he just asked me to dinner... _"Uh, is it any good?" Holly avoided looking him in the eye, for some reason, she was afraid to. _What's wrong with me?_

"I like it."

"Well, ok." _Is this like a date? Oh stop it! You're starting to sound like a stupid teenager! Why did I even think that anyway? He was my commander. I should never have thought anything like that._

* * *

"So, uh, there's this little cafe kind of near where my old place was... Do you want to go there with me?" _That sounded so stupid! What happened to my ability to speak? _Root mentally berated himself. 

Holly had a suprised look on her face. Root looked away, he was frightened of what else he might see on her face.

"Uh, is it any good?" Holly sounded a little apprehensive. _Great, look what you've done now, you idiot._

_"_I like it." _Gah! could you have made it any worse? You sound like an unintelligent creep!_

"Well, ok." Risking a look at Holly, Root noticed that it looked like she was blushing. _I wonder what that means, is she embarrassed, or is it something else?_

"Ok, then let's go."

* * *

Holly sat across from Root at a little table at the cafe. She was looking at the menu, trying to find something that sounded good. 

"Hi, my name is Alice." a waitress said with a large smile on her face, "What can I get for you two this evening?"

"I'll have the spicy tofu." Root answered.

"I'll have the lasagna."

"Allright, I'll have that right out for you." Alice smiled hugely at both of them before walking towards another table.

"Is it just me, or does our waitress smile too much?" Holly mimicked her, stretching her mouth out as far as it would go.

"Yeah, it seems kind of forced. Strange..."

Holly and Root lapsed into silence for a few minutes. She put her hand on the table and began drumming her fingers in time to the song that the cafe was playing.

"Uh, Holly? Foaly wanted me to talk to you about something." Root finally said, looking everywhere but at her.

"About what?" _Oh great, here it comes_

"About your nightmares."

Holly made a sound of exasperation, "Why does he have to be so nosy?! He won't leave me alone!"

"He's just concerned. And I am too. If they're enough to get Foaly to bother you about them, without teasing, they must be really bad." Root finally looked back at her, concern showing in his eyes. Seeing that made her pause. _Does he actually care? Or is he just trying to get Foaly off his case? I hope it's the former. _

"Julius, you don't need to be worried. The nightmares have stopped." Holly held his gaze, hoping that he'd be convinced and drop the subject.

"Please Holly, tell me what they're about. Maybe I can help you." His voice was gentle, and his eyes were sincere and pleading. Holly gulped. _I want to talk to him about it, but he'd just laugh at how stupid they are. _

_"_It doesn't matter, they stopped. They were stupid anyways." She replied quietly

"Just let me help you." He reached out and tentatively put his hand over hers. Holly felt as light as a feather at his touch. _I hope he never moves his hand. What is wrong with me? I'm thinking like a lovesick teenager... Oh gods... I'm not in love with him, am I? Oh no, oh no no no, he was my commander! Stop that this instant Holly! _But it was too late; she couldn't stop thinking about how nice and warm his big rough hand felt over hers. She desperately hoped that what she was thinking didn't show on her face.

* * *

"It doesn't matter, they stopped. They were stupid anyways." Holly was looking down at the table, Root could see in her eyes that she was troubled by whatever those nightmares were about. 

"Just let me help you." Before he realized what he was doing, Root had placed his hand over hers. She jumped slightly, but didn't move her hand away. _Oh gods, what did I just do!? Please don't freak out! _

Root looked at her face. She was staring at their hands in surprise, cheeks bright red. _I bet that's the exact same color my face is at the moment. _He desperately wanted to take his hand back and go hide in the corner_. What is she thinking right now? Oh please don't freak out! Please don't freak out! _They sat there like that for what seemed like an eternity.

"I..." she took a deep breath and started again, "I-I'll be right back." She sat there for another few seconds before getting up, looking at him quickly, and then hurrying towards the bathroom.

Root groaned and buried his burning hot face into his hands as soon as she was out of sight. _You idiot! Why did I do that? There wasn't a stupider thing I could have done. Now she definitely thinks that I'm a creep. Gah! Why, oh, why did I do that!?_ _She'll probably kick me out of the house and never speak to me again. You selfish idiot, you just had to touch her! _Root seriously considered running away and hiding back at Holly's apartment. _I do have a key, but that would be so rude just leaving her here like that. What is wrong with me? It's almost like... Oh gods, I think I'm in love with her. Gah! You _are_ a creep! You were her boss, you shouldn't be thinking like this! Why couldn't have realized what I was feeling sooner? Maybe I could have stopped myself before it was too late._

* * *

Holly stepped shakily into the bathroom. _Oh gods, I've made such a stupid mistake, falling for my own commander. Why did this have to happen!? And why did I have to realize this now, of all times!? What would he think of me if he found out? What am I going to do? Calm down Holly. Maybe if you act normal, he won't notice anything. Just take a deep breath, splash a little water on your face, and go back out there. _She walked to the sink and splashed some cool water onto her cheeks. It didn't help. _Oh, I can't do it! D'Arvit! What is wrong with you? You've faced a bunch of dangerous situations, and you can't go out and pretend like nothing's wrong!? No, I can't. _Suddenly, Holly had the perfect idea on how she could get away.

* * *

Root was still lost in his thoughts when a waiter came up to his table, "Um, excuse me sir. A lady just asked me to come tell you that she wasn't feeling well, so she went home." he smiled sympathetically at Root, "Having a rough date?" 

"It wasn't a date, she's just a friend." Root replied, just barely remembering not to shout at the sprite

"Ah. Well, sorry about that sir." The waiter walked away with a knowing look on his face. Root was tempted to call him back and ask him what that look was about. _He's not your employee; you can't order him around... Holly left? She wasn't feeling well... Oh gods, I completely freaked her out. Maybe I should stop being so pessimistic. She might actually be sick. I don't know which situation I like better. I hope she's ok.  
_

The smiley waitress came up at that moment carrying two plates of food.

"Uh, Alice, could I get two boxes for those? And the check please?"

"Sure. Bob told me that your girlfriend left. Do you need any advice?"

"She-"

"Did you say something to upset her? You know what you should do? You should go get her flowers and apologize to her _immediately. _That's what my boyfriend should have done. You know what he did? Just last night, we were at the movies, and after he said that he loved the actress's eyes. I asked him if he liked her eyes better than mine, and he got all quiet. So I yelled, 'You do like her eyes more than mine! How could you!' And then I ran home crying, and I waited all night and some of the morning for him to come and tell me that he was sorry, and that he _does _like my eyes better than that stupid-"

"Alice, please, could I get the check and a couple of boxes?"

"Are you going to go and apologize to her as soon as you leave?"

"Uh, of course."

"You see, that's what a good boyfriend should do! I wish my boyfriend was like you."

"Uh..."

"I'll be right back."

It took ten more minutes after that to get away from her, Alice kept going on and on about her boyfriend. By the time he finally left, Root was almost more afraid of her than what had happened with Holly. But as he walked towards Holly's apartment, he felt his fear returning.

* * *

Holly got home and plunked down onto her bed._ How under the Earth am I going to face him? It's not like I can avoid him, he's living in my house! I hope I didn't offend him or anything by suddenly leaving. He probably doesn't even care at all. He's just thinking 'what's the deal with that stupid female?'. Oh stop it, he did say that you were a good friend... Even though that was to the reporters. Grr, I'm just going to end up depressing myself if I keep thinking about it. _Holly heard the front door open and close. _He's back already!? Well, I did tell the waiter to tell him that I felt sick; maybe he's just worried.. _She could hear him walking towards her room, so she quickly ducked under the covers of her bed and pretended to be asleep. 

The door slowly opened. Holly tried to breathe evenly and slowly as she listened to his footsteps get closer and closer. Suddenly, he put his hand on her forehead, as if checking to see if she had a fever. _Wow, that's the second time today he's touched me in a way that suggests that he cares about me. _Holly had to fight to keep from smiling.

"Get better." he whispered, brushing back her short bangs. His hand left her forehead, and she heard him walk out of her room and close the door. Holly fell asleep smiling.

**Wow, I wrote a lot! I'm happy now. :D So, now that you've read my chapter, could you please review? Pretty please, with sugar on top? -points helpfully down at the review button-  
**


	12. Return

**I can't believe I found time to write this. It seems a little rushed...**

**Warning: This chapter is very dramatic. And a little violent. Not too violent though... I hope... o.O;;  
**

Root sat in the kitchen poking at the food from the cafe. _I guess maybe Holly really was sick... I don't know, maybe she was just pretending. If she was pretending, what did she think of what I did? Stop it. I wish I could turn my brain off. _He tried to go back to eating the tofu, but he wasn't hungry.

Suddenly, he heard something that sounded like a strangled shout. He jumped up, straining his ears to try and see where the noise came from.

* * *

Everything was dark, and Holly could feel something rough against her face. She immediately tried to get the bag that was over her head off. She could tell that she had been thrown over someone's shoulder. Whoever it was had tied her arms tightly to her sides, so she tried to kick her kidnaper. He quickly grabbed her legs to prevent her. She struggled and fought to get away. She felt a surge of triumph as she realized her captor was having trouble keeping hold of her. 

All the breath was forced out of her lungs as he dropped her onto the ground. She had fallen somewhat far, so either her captor was probably taller than her, or he had dropped her into a small ditch. She held still to listen, he was walking towards her. His steps were heavy, and she didn't hear anything to suggest that he stepped off a ledge. He stopped very close to her legs. "Stupid female." He muttered to himself. His voice sounded vaugely familiar. Holly swept her legs around until she kicked into and past his ankles. He fell heavily to the ground next to her. _It's a good thing he didn't land on me, he sounds a good deal bigger. _She started kicking in the direction that he fell, and her foot found him. She kicked hard, and he groaned in pain. He scrambled away, and Holly tried to follow him, but she couldn't move very well with her arms tied and unable to see. He got up and avoided her feet. He kicked her hard in the back, and she gasped. Taking advantage of the moment, he tied her legs together. "Ha"

"Oh come one, you can't handle a weak female on your own!? You coward! Untie me, and see if you can get away!" She yelled at him.

He kicked her in the back again, "Don't you call me a coward. You stupid female." _Looks like someone has an easily bruised ego. Let's see if I can use that to my advantage._

"You are a coward. If you weren't, you wouldn't have tied me up, you would have faced me like a real male."

"I said, don't call me a coward!" He kicked her harder, and she cried out in pain.

"Then if you're not, untie me and face me in a fair fight."

"Oh please, you're injured," He poked the place where he had kicked her with the toe of his shoe, and she could tell a bruise was forming. She wondered why her magic hadn't healed it already, "And don't be thinking that you can rely on magic. Because we're in a place where magic doesn't work. Don't ask me how it works, I don't know."

Holly realized where she had heard his voice. "Sool?"

"How did you know?" She could almost hear the sneer in his voice.

"You jerk." she snarled, "What do you want with me?"

"I want you to pay for daring to defy me."

"What are you talking about?"

"If you don't know, then I'm not going to tell you."

He roughly grabbed her shoulders and began trying to haul her away. Holly knew she didn't have enough leverage to be able to get away by struggling, so she let herself drop like a dead weight, hoping he wouldn't have enough strength to lift or drag her. He cursed and dropped her. He began kicking her again.

"You will stop resisting me right now!" Holly curled into a ball. She slumped, pretending that she had fallen unconscious. Sool stopped kicking her, and started dragging her away.

* * *

They finally reached their destination. Sool threw her down on the ground, and she paused to listen, trying to figure out how to get away. The bag was roughly removed from her head, and Holly resisted opening her eyes to look around; she didn't know what Sool would try to do if he realized she was conscious. He and untied her arms and legs, which surprised her. He began walking away, so she risked opening her eyes. They were in what looked like a cave. Sool's back was still to her, so she leaped up and tried to sneak up behind him. 

Somehow he heard her, spun around and pushed her, making her fall to the ground. "I guessed that you were pretending." He put his foot on her chest, holding her down. "I'm going to have a lot of fun getting my revenge." he sasid sinisterly.

"Revenge for what?" she asked.

"Why, for abandoning me. Don't you remember?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about. You know, Julius will figure out what happened, and he'll come and find me."

"I doubt it." Suddenly, Sool's face seemed to transform into Root's. Holly was frozen in horror.

"What? But... Julius?" she asked in shock.

"That's right." As he spoke, his voice changed from Sool's to Root's.

"No! Julius!" She felt like crying

* * *

Root walked to the front door and looked out of the peep hole, looking to see if there was someone outside. There wasn't. He heard another noise, what sounded like a cry of pain. It was coming from Holly's room. He ran and threw the door open. It looked like Holly had just fallen off her bed. 

"Julius." she sobbed. Root ran to her side. _Oh gods, what's happening? Is she sick? Or... Is she having one of those nightmares?_

* * *

"So now do you know what you've done to anger me?" Root yelled, shaking her roughly. Holly wanted to fight back, but she found she couldn't move. He was shaking her like she was a rag doll. 

"Julius please! I'm sorry, I'm so sorry! Don't, please." She pleaded.

* * *

"Holly?" Root asked nervously. She didn't respond, so he took her by the shoulders and gently shook her, trying to wake her. 

"Julius please! I'm sorry, I'm so sorry! Don't, please." Root froze. She was having a nightmare about _him_. He felt so guilty that he was making her feel like that, even if he had no control over his actions in her dream.

* * *

He stopped shaking her, "And why should I believe you?" 

"I'm telling you the truth, please don't hurt me. I never meant to abandon you! I swear!" she sobbed, shakily reaching out and putting her hands on his shoulders.

* * *

"Don't what?" He was afraid of what he was doing in her nightmare 

"I'm telling you the truth, please don't hurt me. I never meant to abandon you! I swear!" Still asleep, she reached up and grabbed his shoulders, sobbing. He placed his hand on the side of her face.

"Holly, Holly, don't worry, I would never hurt you." He said, even though he knew she probably couldn't hear him.

* * *

Root grabbed her around the neck with one hand, "Holly, Holly, you're lying! You were glad at the thought of me being blown to pieces!" He threw her to the ground, but she could still feel his hand at the side of her face. It was a strange sensation. She looked around again and realized that she wasn't in a cave, she was in a chute. 

"Julius..."

"I'm going to leave you now, a flare is coming. Don't worry, I'll be watching you die." He cackled

* * *

"Julius..." her voice was pleading and tearful. 

"Holly, please, wake up! Please!" He gently tapped her face, and pulled her close.

"Julius! Don't leave me here, please!"

"Leave you where? Where? Holly! Wake up!"

"NO!" Root shook her again. _Please oh please wake up!_

* * *

Some rocks fell from the ceiling and bounced off her cheek as the chute began to rumble with the force of the coming flare. Root was walking away from her, towards the safety of the blast doors. 

"Julius! Don't leave me here, please!" She began to sob uncontrollably. He walked past the doors and smiled and waved at her as the doors closed.

"NO!" The ground began to shake even harder, and she could see Root's eyes filled with malice in front of her. She closed her eyes tight and then opened them again. She was still being shaken, but Root's eyes had changed being filled with worry and panic. She drew in a shaky breath and looked around, she was in her own room, on the floor. Root was holding her, with a hand on the side of her neck. Her hands were on his shoulders.

"D'Arvit!" she cursed, she had had another nightmare, and now he must know._ Oh gods, what is he thinking? He must think I'm so stupid. How much did I say aloud? _

_"_Holly! You're awake. Thank the gods!"

"Julius... uh... sorry about that. Um..."

"What was happening? I was afraid you might've been having a seizure or something. And you were talking, you were telling me you were sorry, and telling me not to leave you, and asking me not to hurt you." His voice was filled with concern and was faintly tinged with panic.

"It was nothing." She tried to push away, but he wouldn't let her. He gently wiped a tear off her cheek with his thumb. Holly was split in two; she wanted to run away, and never leave his arms at the same time.

"Nothing!? Holly, what was happening? Please tell me." He sounded so caring, she was finding it hard to resist.

"You'll just laugh at me." She said quietly.

"I promise I won't. No, I swear I won't. Please tell me."

It all came pouring out of her mouth. She couldn't stop herself. As she talked, his eyes showed sorrow, and regret.

"I'm so sorry, Holly." He said sincerely.

"Why are you sorry?" she asked, puzzled.

"Because I'm the cause of your troubles. I am _so_ sorry."

"It's not your fault. It's just me being stupid."

"You're not stupid Holly, just the opposite. Why did this have to happen to you?" he seemed to be asking himself, "I never wanted you to feel pain because of me." He said, almost tenderly

"Julius... What do you mean?" Holly felt very confused.

"I just... It hurts me to find out that you have been suffering on my behalf."

"But why? I was just a random, annoying employee of yours."

"You're more than an employee to me Holly." He was stroking her cheek again.

"Really?"

"Yes, I... I love you."

**Dun dun duuuuuuuuh. :P If you want to find out what's going to happen next, you need to review. Please? Pretty pretty please?  
**


	13. Confusion

**Woot! I'm updating again. I hope all of you like it :D Poor Denethor... Oh sorry, I'm watching a movie. Extra magical cookies to the person who can guess which one it is ;D **

"Yes, I... I love you."_ D'Arvit! D'Arvit! Why did you say that!? _Holly's mouth was hanging open.

"Y-you what?" She asked, completely shocked.

"I love you. I know it sounds strange, but I love you." _Shut up now, you idiot! _But he couldn't stop himself, "I don't know how it happened. I guess it was your determination to prove yourself. I admired you for your courage, being the only female in the LEP. I'm sorry I was so hard on you. I just wanted to see how far you could go. And then, I tried to be nice to you. Honestly, I tried so hard, but for some reason I always got nervous and ended up shouting at you and criticizing you. I wish I wasn't like that, then maybe you wouldn't have ever resented me." Root couldn't believe it, he was babbling, "I don't know when I first fell in love with you, but I realized it earlier at the restaurant. Well, I think I realized it subconsciously before that, since I've been fighting it for quite a while now, not because of you, just because I didn't think you'd take too kindly to me being in love with you. But, I just can't deny it anymore. You're so beautiful..." And finally he stopped, felling like he was going to panic. _D'Arvit! What is she going to do now? Why did I say all of that? What is she going to think of me?_

"Julius," Holly was blushing, he felt her grip on his shoulders, which had been tight during her nightmare and afterwards, loosen faintly, "you really feel that way about me?"

Root looked at the floor, he could feel his embarrassment creeping up his face, "Yes." he whispered, "I-I'm sorry I said all of that, it must have completely freaked you out. If you want, we can just forget about it, and I'll never say anything about it ever again."

"I can't believe you feel-"

"Don't worry, I'll never mention it again. I'm sorry." Julius quickly but gently put her down and ran out of the room.

"Julius! Wait, come back!" He wished she was going to tell him that she loved him too, but he knew she would never do that.

"Don't worry, it's forgotten." he called over his shoulder. He ran into his room and closed the door, careful not to slam it, just in case Holly got the wrong idea about his response to her rejection. He leaned his back against the door, feeling miserable. _Gods, I hope this hasn't ruined our friendship. That would be so terrible, to lose her completely because of my stupid mouth. _Suddenly, he heard footsteps coming up to his door.

"Julius?" she knocked lightly.

"Y-yes, Holly?" he said timidly

"Please, open the door."

"You don't need to be worried about me, I'll keep control over myself. I promise."

"Julius!"

"Seriously, you don't need to worry, I've already forgotten all about it." _Or I will try any time I'm near you, to make sure you'll feel comfortable around me. _"You can just go back to sleep."

There was silence from the other side of the door for a moment. "But I don't want you to forget. U-unless... you d-don't love me anymore." the last part was just barely audible.

Root was stunned. He didn't know how to process what she had said. _Was that sorrow I heard when she said that last bit? No... I thought she would never feel anything for me..._

_"_Julius?" Her voice almost sounded tearful. He couldn't respond, he still felt baffled. Root felt a slight weight press against the door, and heard what sounded like a sob. It was so quiet that if he hadn't been leaning against the door, he wouldn't have heard it at all. She whispered something, he could just barely make out what she said... _What?_

* * *

"Seriously, don't worry, I've already forgotten everything. You can just go back to sleep." Holly felt stunned. _Didn't he just say he loved me? Did he change his mind? Oh gods, please don't let it be that way!  
_

"But I don't want you to forget. U-unless... you d-don't love me anymore." She whispered the last part. She stood facing the closed door, hoping with all of her heart that he'd open it and tell her that it wasn't true, that he did still love her. But the door still stood firm against her.

_"_Julius?" She was trying not to cry. More silence passed._ He did change his mind. Why!? Why did he have to tell me and then take it back? _She leaned her forehead and arms against the door, a sob escaping. She felt a couple tears fall down her cheeks, "I love you too, Julius, don't abandon me like this." she whispered, she hoped too quietly for him to hear. Abruptly, the door moved slightly away from her, as if some weight had been removed from it. The door opened inward, too swiftly for her to take her weight off of it. She fell forward, into Root's chest, and he grabbed her around the waist to steady her. She looked up, into his eyes; which showed suprise, hope, and something else that she was too scared to try to identify, in case she guessed wrong.

"What did you say?"

"Uh," She quickly thought back to the last thing he would have heard, "'I don't want you to forget, Julius.'"

"No, after that."

_Did he hear that? _"'I love you too...'" she whispered, not wanting to continue, in case he got the wrong idea.

"Really?" he asked in astonishment, "You do?"

"Yes! I realized it at the restaurant too, right after you put your hand on mine. I was too afraid that you'd see it in my expression, so I went and hid in the bathroom." Now she was the one babbling, "Then I was too scared to come back to the table, so I got the waiter to tell you that I was feeling sick... If you hadn't run away, I was going to say that I couln't believe you feel the same way. Just now, when you kept saying to forget it, and then when you stopped responding, I thought you had changed your mind about me... H-have you?" She felt herself start to tremble, she was scared that he would say that he had. Against her will, tears began to build behind her eyes again. _D'Arvit! Why are you being so emotional!? This is so not like me. _

"No! I could never stop loving you so quickly." He said shaking his head. She smiled, feeling so joyful. Root smiled back at her and hugged her tightly. Holly pressed her forehead against his neck happily, and Root rested his head on top of hers. _I can't believe this is happening! This better not be a dream. Oh well, if it is, it's the best dream I've ever had. _She sighed.

Root pulled away to look at her, Holly couldn't help but feel a little disappointed. He took one of his hands off her waist and lifted it to stroke her cheek. Holly wrapped her arms around his neck. Their faces were mere inches apart. Then the gap closed, and they kissed.

Holly giggled. Root pulled back and looked at her questioningly. "I was almost afraid this was a dream, but usually you wake up right before the actual kiss. It looks like this is real."

Root smiled, "It had better be real." and he pulled her in for another kiss.

**Bwahahaha! Finally! ;) I have another chapter planned, so please review and tell me if you want me to post it. Reviewers will get heaps of magical cookies (sorry, I forgot to bribe you with them in my previous updates). -nudges readers-**


	14. Forgetfulness

**Wow, that took me a lot longer than I thought it would. I had major writer's block, so... please don't hurt me. -.-;;  
**

Foaly walked into work on Tuesday morning carrying his bag of carrots for the day and some random parts of a computer. He stopped by the commander's office to see if he had actually talked to Holly. _I seriously doubt that she would actually tell him anything. Hopefully he didn't try to force her to tell him, that might make her attack him. If they did get into a fight, I wonder who would win... I should definately start a pool on that! But how to get them to fight where we could all watch, without them knowing.  
_

He had reached Root's office, so he peeked in. And nearly dropped everything he was carrying out of shock. _Julius is _smiling! _The world isn't going to explode now, is it? _Foaly nervously checked to see if his tin foil hat was still on. Root looked up and saw the centaur standing at the door.

"Good morning Foaly. Is there something wrong?"

"Julius, you were _smiling!_" Foaly said, walking into the room and closing the door. "_And _you said 'good morning'"

"Is there something wrong with saying 'good morning' to you or something? And I don't think I was smiling."

"You were! What did she do to you? Do you need to see a medic?"

"What are you talking about?"

"How hard did Holly hit you for mentioning her nightmares?"

"She didn't hit me at all. In fact, I got her to tell me about them." Root grinned

"What!? What did she say?"

"That's her business. Now, if you don't mind Foaly, I have to get back to work."

The poor confused centaur picked his stuff up and left the office. It wasn't until he reached the Ops. Booth that he realized that Root hadn't said a thing about him calling him Julius. _She must have hit him really hard or something._ Foaly reached for the communicator and dialed.

"Short and Diggums PI... Oh hi Foaly." Mulch answered

"Hey Mulch, can I talk to Holly?"

"Uh, sure." Mulch looked around and leaned closer to the screen and whispered, "She's been acting a little strange today... Oh hey Holly, Foaly's on the communicator, he's asking for you." Mulch got up and ran from the room.

"Hi Foaly, what was the deal with him?" Holly came into view.

"No idea. What did you do to Julius?"

"Mulch keeps... What?"

"Holly, he was _smiling_ when I walked into his office, and he said 'good morning' without insulting me!" To Foaly's amazement, Holly grinned, and it looked like her cheeks were turning a light pink

"Holly... are you blushing!?"

"Something must be wrong with your screen. Why do you think I had anything to do with his behavior?"

"Well... he told me that he was going to try to find out what your nightmares are about." he lied, "I warned him not to, I thought you'd hurt him or throw him out of your apartment or something. So what did you do to make him act so... unlike himself?"

"I didn't hurt him or throw him out of my apartment."

"Then what did you do?"

"None of your business." Holly said with a mischievous wink, "I have to go, a customer just walked in. Bye Foaly." She shut off the communicator without waiting for a response.

_What is going on with those two!? _Foaly wondered to himself, still staring at the blank screen, _What if...? Nah, they wouldn't feel that way about eachother... Could they?_

* * *

**Seven months later**

Root got up from behind his desk feeling agitated and wandered to the Ops. Booth.

Foaly buzzed him through, "Hello Julius, what can I do for you?"

"Don't call me that, donkey. I need to ask you for a favor."

"Oh sure, just insult me and then ask me to do something for you. That tactic works everytime." his voice was dripping with sarcasm

"Could you hold this for me?" He held out a box to the centaur.

"Ooooo! What's this?" Foaly opened it with out waiting for an answer, "Sorry Julius, it doesn't suit me." he grinned slyly.

"You idiot, it's not for you." Root growled

"Then who is it for? No, don't tell me, I want to guess." Foaly tapped his chin in mock concentration, "It's Frond isn't it?"

"Oh, shut up donkey. You should know."

"So it is Frond! I knew it!"

"Don't make me hurt you."

"You shouldn't bring harm to the genius that saved your life." Foaly scolded him

Root rolled his eyes, "Whatever. Just don't lose it."

"Don't worry, I'll be sure to put it into my 'to lose' pile."

* * *

The next day, Holly walked into the apartment, expecting Root to be there already. But he wasn't._ Huh, he told me to be sure to come home early on the note he left me this morning..._ Just then the front door opened and closed 

"There you are Julius!" Holly greeted him. Root looked up from locking the door, "and I thought you wanted me home early for a reason."

"Sorry Holly, Foaly held me up." Root dropped the keys on the table next to the door and pulled Holly in for a kiss.

"So why did you want me home early?"

"It's a surprise." Holly punched his chest playfully.

"Oh come on! Tell me!"

"Why don't I just show you." he said smiling

"Fine." she said, trying to sound irritated, but failing.

Root led her back out the door and pulled a cloth out of his pocket, and tied it around her eyes.

"Why do you need to blind fold me?"

"I want you to be surprised."

He took her hand and began to lead her through the streets.

After about ten minutes of the winding route, Holly was convinced that Root was taking her in circles. Finally, they entered a building. There was a scraping sound, like a chair being pulled across the floor.

"Here, sit down, straight behind you." Root said, guiding her gently by the shoulders. As soon as she was seated, Root removed the blind fold. Holly looked around, they were in the restaurant where they had first had dinner together, when Holly had run away to escape Root's questions about her nightmares.

"Hello again!" The same waitress they had had those months ago greeted them cheerfully, "It's good to see you two made up. Did my advice work?" she asked Root

"Uh, yeah." Root replied.

"Good! I'll get you the same things you had last time, unless you'd like something else."

"That'll be fine" They replied

"Advice?" Holly asked Root as soon as the waitress had left the table.

"The waitor you told to tell me that you left told her about all of it, and she came to the table and went off on a tangent about what her boyfriend should have done." he explained, "I can't believe she remembered us. I kind of wish she hadn't."

* * *

After they had finished eating and had payed the check, Root began digging through his pockets. 

"Julius, what are you doing?"

"Looking for something."

"I can see that, but what are you looking for?"

"Something."

"Stubborn." Holly rolled her eyes at Root.

"D'Arvit! I left it at work." he muttered to himself

"Left what at work?"

"Now who's the stubborn one?"

"You didn't answer my question." Holly replied, grinning. Root chuckled. "So what did you leave at work?"

"Let's go get it, and then maybe I'll let you see it." They got up from the table and started for the LEP holding hands, arguing playfully.

"Why don't you just tell me, it would be much easier than keeping it a secret."

"And why do you think it's important?"

"If it's not important, then why don't you just tell me what it is?"

"It's too much fun having you badger me." he squeezed her hand affectionately.

"So then are you just pretending to be missing some mysterious object?"

"No, I did leave something at work!"

"Then prove it. Tell me what it is and then I'll believe you."

"It's a surprise."

"You are just pretending."

"I'm not!"

"I don't believe you."

"Well that's too bad. Maybe I won't show it to you once I get it."

"Julius-!"

"Holly."

"Stop being so stubborn."

"You're the stubborn one." Root chuckled

"Me? Stubborn?" Holly grinned at him mischeiviously, "Why do you think I'm stubborn?"

"Because you are." They had reached the LEP headquarters, "Could you wait out here, while I go get what I forgot?"

"Then how am I going to know if you actually got anything?"

"Don't worry, I'll show it to you when I come back out."

"Fine." Holly plunked down on a bench outside the door and crossed her arms, pretending to be annoyed. Root walked into the building chuckling again. _What is he getting? And why won't he tell me what it is?_ Holly wondered to herself, _Maybe he's just messing with me. Yeah, that's probably it. _

Five minutes later, Root came back out and sat next to Holly. "So what is it?" She asked immediately.

"Here you go." he said, handing her a little box. _Is he nervous? Why would he be nervous about showing me something he left at work? _She looked at him questioningly, but he gestured at the box, "Open it."

Holly looked at the box puzzled, and pulled the top back. In the box was a shiny, silver ring with gold etchings in the shape of a heart. Holly gasped and looked back at Root.

"Holly Short, w-will you marry me?" he asked, nervousness apparent in his eyes.

Holly felt a smile slide across her face, "So this is why you were so secretive." She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him lovingly. "I will" she whispered in his ear when they finally pulled apart. Keeping one arm around her, Root took the ring out of the open box and slipped it onto Holly's ring finger.

"It looks great on you, Mrs. Root." he said, stroking her cheek gently.

"I'm not Mrs. Root quite yet." Holly giggled, "But I will be soon." He smiled and leaned in for a tender kiss.

Up in the Ops. Booth, Foaly clapped his hands and danced around in a circle, laughing happily. Unbeknownst to Holly and Root, he had been watching the feed from the camera that was watching the front door and the bench right outside of it. The centaur turned off the feed, shut off the lights, and walked out of the booth humming the wedding march.

**So? What did you think? Please review! Pretty please? With magical sugar and sweets on top? **


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